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Albany County whistleblower files lawsuit against McCoy

Dec 31, 2019 12:57 am
Brendan J. Lyons reports in the Times Union that the whistleblower who told Albany County Comptroller Michael Conners about on-duty county employees also working on county Executive Daniel McCoy's 2015 re-election campaign on the clock has now filed a federal lawsuit against McCoy. The lawsuit claims he and other county leaders violated Keri Kresler's civil rights by cutting her salary, demoting her, and then ending her job at the board of elections. Kresler said she refused to back candidates McCoy supported for positions in Albany city government, and then he "shunned" her. Kresler also provided Conners with many emails and other records that to back up her assertion that many county employees did campaign work on county time. Democratic elections commissioner Matt Clyne fired her, claiming performance issues as the reason, though Kresler says she never received any warnings about her job performance, except once when Clyne questioned her use of sick time. Conners then gave her a job in his office. "Ms. Kresler asserts that her employment was threatened by Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy when she failed to support candidates of his choosing," her attorney, John J. Hoke, said. "When Ms. Kresler persisted in supporting candidates of her choosing, Mr. McCoy retaliated by transferring her to a different county department without warning or explanation, other than a statement that she worked at 'the pleasure of Daniel McCoy.'" Read more about this story in the Times Union.